Largest Class in SoBoCo History to Graduate Sunday

It is difficult for high school principals to compare one graduating class to another, however, this year is not difficult for Dale Van Deven.

On Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m the Southern Boone High School class of 2016 will graduate 133 seniors – the largest graduating class in the history of the high school.

Doors for the graduation crowds will open at noon. Besides general seating in the high school gymnasium, a video/audio feed will be provided to the “spillover” crowd in the high school auditorium.

According to Van Deven, one major change in the graduation program is that the annual slide show – with photos of graduates from the time they were toddlers to teens – will begin playing shortly after noon when families begin taking their seats. The slide show will play continuously prior to the commencement exercises beginning at 2 p.m.

“We wanted to have every graduate in the slide show for more than just a few seconds,” Van Deven said, “and to do that we needed to put it before we started commencement in order to stay within a reasonable time frame.”

No doubt, it will take longer to simply walk that many more high school seniors across the stage.

However, Van Deven and senior class leaders say that there is more to this year’s senior class than just its sheer size.

“When I think about this class, I think about just how nice they are,” Van Deven said. “They truly have a bond and are great kids.”